Performance assessment of free standing and building integrated grid connected photovoltaic system for southern part of India

Photovoltaic (PV) system efficiency depends on the geographical location and the orientation of the building. Until installing the building structures, the integration of the PV module must be evaluated with ventilation and without ventilation effects. This work optimises the performance of the 250 kWp grid-connected photovoltaic (GPV) for community buildings in the southern part of India. This simulation is carried out to evaluate the system efficiency of the GPV system under various ventilation conditions, such as free-standing PV (FSPV), building integrated photovoltaic ventilated (BIPV_V) and Building Integrated Photovoltaic without ventilation (BIPV). The PVsyst simulation tool is used to simulate and optimise the performance of the system with FSPV, BIPV and BIPV_V for the region of Chennai (13.2789° N, 80.2623° E), Tamilnadu, India. An annual system energy production is 446 MWh, 409 MWh and 428 MWh of FSPV, BIPV and BIPV_V system respectively. while electrical efficiency for the FSPV, BIPV_V, BIPV system is 15.45%. 15.25% and 14.75% respectively. Practical application : Integrating the grid connected photovoltaic system on the building reduces the energy consumption in the building. The integration of the PV on the roof or semi integrated on the roof is need to be investigated before installing on the buildings. The need for installation of the BIPV with ventilation is explored. This study will assist architects and wider community to design buildings roofs with GPV system which are more aesthetic and account for noise protection and thermal insulation in the region of equatorial climate zones.